"Manager Dusty Baker said if shortstop Nomar Garciaparra had been able to handle catcher Michael Barrett's throw and tag out a stealing Endy Chavez, Prior could have held the Expos to one run in the first. Garciaparra didn't catch the ball cleanly, it appeared, and three runs followed later in the inning."-- Chicago Sun Times | Top 10 screenshot courtesy of our friends at Royville.com

"Contrary to the belief of a lot of people (read: morons) in this region, the Yankees don't suck." -- Cy Schilling

Georgie Porgie's Gonna Need Some Vodka After Last Night

"If you are watching a horse race with one horse ten and a half lengths in the lead, and suddenly the second place horse begins to close in on that leader to just three lengths, you have to think that the leader is in big, big trouble." -- Michael Kay, Yankee broadcaster

"As of Saturday, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays had a lower team ERA (4.55) than the New York Yankees (4.57). That is one of the more amazing stats in recent sports history, if you ask me." -- Peter King, Sports Illustrated

Sveum!
He's gonna wave forever.
He sends Ortiz on a fly,
Why?
He feels it's now or never,
Dale Sveum will send 'em then cry
Sveum!
He can't even make it a close play,
Out like a light, douse the flame,
Sveum!
He's gonna wave forever,
Davey remember his name,
Remember, Remember, Remember, Remember, Remember, Remember.

Curt Won't Be Coming Down to Plow Your Driveway with His Ford F-150, He's Hitchhiking Back to Paridise Valley

And rumors that these two aren't close were greatly exaggerated. In fact, they may be a little too close. What's up with that Shonda?

Boston Red Sox ace Curt Schilling said today that he plans to leave Boston after this season

Mass#@%! and Stupid Star Gazers Driving Schillings Away to Arizona

Political insider says move could hurt Curt's potential run for Governor

8.27.04: Curt Schilling on with Loren and Wally 105.7 WROR. L/R: (With Curt's kids going back to school) "Are they worried that kids are only gonna like them because of who their father is?"

Curt Schilling: "You know what? That's a been a very, very big issue for us here. How the kids have been treated. On both sides of the fence. Just a very different, not altogether positive situation. It's something we've had to deal with. It's something that... umm one of the reasons why I think probably we're gonna end up living in Arizona during the winter time. (Really?) Yeah, it's not a good situation and "kids are kids"... and it's something Shonda and I have stressed that time and time again with our kids as far as, who they are and not what they are, it's just really hard here. But we had a perfect set up in Arizona, all four kids had, we had a next door neighbor with four kids who were the same age, so were waffling a lot of different things like that but it's just been a very different environment, both for them and for Shonda."

UPDATE -- Gammons on WEEI's Big Show 8.26.04: "Chicago didn't lie about Nomar's injury to keep it from Houston when they told people he was sitting out because of his Achilles and it was his wrist. They can see what he looks like in batting practice. They lied to keep Nomar happy... it's about his contract... I'm worried about this wrist. He's in a contract year and he's got tendon problems in his wrist and his heel... it's too bad... he carried so much resentment towards Red Sox management. And all this business with the dirt in front of shortstop, "they're tapping my phone," I mean..."

UPDATE -- NECN's Chris Collins, Improper Bostonian 8.25.04: "A source close to the ordeal tells me that a big moment in the breakup came upon Nomar's return from his honeymoon this past off-season. He got off the plane in Los Angeles and immediately called Sox owner Tom Werner to ask about where the team was with the Alex Rodriguez negotiations. Werner invited Nomar over to his Southern California mansion the next day to assure him that the A-Rod thing was dead and all their time and energy would be focused on keeping Nomar with the Sox. Days later Garciaparra got a phone call telling him that Sox CEO and president Larry Lucchino and Epstein were on their way to Texas to meet with A-Rod. Nomar and his agent Arn Tellum, apparently called the duo as Lucchino and Epstein were on their way to do the Texas two-step and pursue the A-Rod deal again. That conversation reportedly ended with Lucchino saying "(Bleep) you Arn, (Bleep) you!" That's the way Lucchino does business. Nobody can question his intellect: He's become a rich man in baseball management. But let's be honest: His temper played a huge role in the Sox failure to land Rodriguez, and his lack of candor played a significant role in Nomar's reluctance to stay in Boston."

"There's some talk out in Chicago that he may need surgery on that wrist but let's wait and see."-- 8.25.04: CBS-4's Bob Lobel on UPN-38's 10:45 Sports

According to a Boston Dirt Dogs source, former Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra may have to have season-ending wrist surgery in the near future on the injured tendon in his left wrist. Red Sox sources were "not surprised" to hear about this new development.

Bad News Bear Back in the Lineup

Mr. Hamm Re-Injures Wrist

(Not the one he had the surgery on, the left one, which he has injured before as well)

More MRI Than RBI: Will Garciaparra Go Back on the DL Like He Promised to in Boston?

"As for the latest injury to the superstar shortstop nicknamed "Glass" by his minor-league teammates because of his fragile nature, it's just as curious as all the others to hit the Cubs this season." -- 8.24: Chris De Luca, Sun Times (House of "Glass" is perfect. Smooth yet fragile.)

"Garciaparra didn't mention the injury when talking to reporters about his Achilles' tendon in Houston after Sunday's game, and the Cubs didn't let on either. "That could be a possibility," Garciaparra said (regarding going on the DL). "That's something we haven't discussed or gotten into yet. Right now, we're looking at the present day and the very near future, and see how that goes. Then we'll worry about the rest when it comes." -- 8.23: Cubs shortstop Nomar Garciaparra

"But we have to wait to see what's up with Nomar because if you put him on the DL and it's only a matter of a few days, then you've lost him [for 15 days]. We just have to wait this out and see." -- 8.23: Cubs manager Dusty Baker

"Could he play Tuesday? "There's a possibility," Garciaparra said. "Right now we're going day to day, and that's the attitude we're taking right now. (The wrist) is going to tell me. There's been some discomfort. There was a reason for the exam but at the same time it's more symptomatic and you have to listen to it."

Is Nomore taking a shot at Tito and Theo? "Garciaparra is expected to undergo an MRI exam at Northwestern Memorial today when he visits team orthopedist Stephen Gryzlo and hopes to be cleared for a return to the lineup.

"I'm going to see the doctor and check things out," said Garciaparra, adding that he told manager Dusty Baker he could play Sunday against the Astros. "[Sunday] was one of those days. I told Dusty I was ready to play. He's great. He's like, 'No, you're not playing, I'm making the decision.' "He's looking after me, which says a lot about him. He said, 'Let's get more answers.' I'll have more answers for you [today]."

MLB.com: "Do you know if today's opposing starting pitcher is right-handed or left-handed?"
Garciaparra: "I have no idea."

Nobody Missing Nomar

"There isn't anybody doing their own thing now and that's different. Nomar had a lot of things going on and he's introverted. He had the Achilles'. He had the contract. And it was its own story. Every day with the trade, that changed the atmosphere immediately in here." -- 8.27.04: Curt Schilling to Dan Shaughnessy

"We're all getting along great, this is a good bunch of guys. We got rid of one superstar, but we got three everyday players who can play defense. We're professionals. We see the revolving door all the time, but I do think we're better than before, in every way. Defensively, we can count on those guys all the time. I think we're better." -- Johnny Damon in the Boston Herald after trading Nomar

"I had the best fastball I had in 3-4 months. Minimal effort tonight, that was big. One of the things I've taken pride in is to be able to make adjustments, which i did tonight... We had a great road trip, we're clicking. We're just going out tomorrow and treating it like the most important game of the season." -- Curt Schilling 16-6

Hail to the Cab: Orlando hitting .429 since August 15, 10-game hitting streak

Hey David, it's not about where you're hitting in the order, or what your batting average is in the middle of a pennant race. Very disappointing Mr. Ortiz. Maybe you need to sit down with Gabe Kapler and Doug Mientkiewicz and get back to focusing on the team concept today.

"Mientkiewicz Would've Had It" Hurt. "Day to Day" kiss of death per Tito.

"...not all players can play in Boston. It takes a certain make-up to be successful here. If a player is not a "gamer" or a "dirt dog" it will be difficult to fit in into this city. The fans here want players who grind it out in the good and the bad times." -- Jason Varitek mailbag on The Remy Report

Manny's in the Driver's Seat

"Boston is the best city ever," he says. "The fans are great. They love me. Oh my God. You go out to eat, they don't let you pay for nothing. You win it there and people will go nuts. I'm going to party for a month."

See Tuesday's Boston Globe as Stan Grossfeld follows Manny as he picks the color on his Dad's new wheels at "Rad Rides by Troy," in the village of Manteno, 53 miles south of Chicago. Ramirez went here on a Sox day off to select a color for a 1967 Lincoln Continental convertible he purchased and is having totally restored for his Dad's birthday. Kevin Millar remains pissed that they chose to stop at Mickey D's over the chicken stompin' KFC he represents.

Brass Tacks on Smart Policy: The Boston Red Sox have finally come to their senses and recently formally instituted a new policy that bans all t-shirts that feature the 1990's paranoid inferiority complex phrase "Yankees Suck" (which does more to promote the team from New York and does nothing to support Boston) and/or related anti-Yankees slogans from Fenway Park. Ticket holders wearing the embarassing shirts are now asked to turn the low-rent vulgar t's inside out or change them before entering the gates at Fenway. Point: Lucchino. No decision has been made regarding the banning of any shirts that have the word "Curse" printed on them, which of course promotes some sort of curse no matter what it says in front of the "C" word. Read Hench's Yankees Suck? No Such Luck.

"It makes us look, as a community, like idiots." -- Bill Burt, WEEI's The Big Show on the YS shirt wearing fandom

"Maybe they finally realized that after 86 years of winning nothing and countless wild cards later that THEY are in fact the team that sucks and not the Yankees?" -- Dooley Womack, nyyfans.com

"I've stated many times that there is ZERO hatred on the field between these two teams (Red Sox-Yankees), for the most part, zero. Probably as much respect as anything... The hatred part is in the stands and in the media, they need that sorta stuff for material, and they make it into their own little story often times. What they don't make up, fans seem to give them willingly." -- Curt Schilling

CLEMENS WINDOW CLOSED

Bob Lobel reports on UPN-38 that the window for the Red Sox obtaining Roger Clemens is now shut.

Sox had 48 hours to seal the deal.

Sox Would Not Give Up Youk

Roger Clemens: "It's not a big deal. It's not going to happen anyway. They just did it to block me from going to the Yankees."

(Sorry Roger but it wasn't about the Yankees, the Red Sox wanted to bring you back to Boston)

SOX FUELINGROCKET RETURN

Roger That.

Think Responsibly?

More Bud for Werner and Company

Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig's term as baseball commissioner was extended for three years through 2009 in a unanimous vote by owners today.

Sveum
Waving, keep my whole body shaking
You got me so confused it's a Sveum
Sometimes I think I'm going insane
Still I want you to stay
(Wavin' your arms that's what I want to see)
What I want to see (Want to see)
(Wavin' your arms that's my high)
High

Sveum
Ooh my mamma says you ain't got a brain
And what you do at third is a Sveum
Ooh wouldn't wanna live without pain
Mamma just don't understand

(Wavin' your arms that's what I want to see)
What I want to see
(Want to see)
(Wavin' your arms that's my high)
High

I can't get enough
(Ooh) Ooh baby enough of that magic touch
Thrown out from the start, tearing the rules apart
So why should Dale be ashamed?

Sveum
Only wins can beat the pain
And if we lose this game it's a Sveum
Ooh I wouldn't want to live without pain
Send 'em in forever

(If we lose this game it's a Sveum)
Oh no
(If we lose this game it's a Sveum)
(Never gonna find home again no) no (no) no (no) no

I can't get enough
Ooh baby enough of that magic touch
Thrown out from the start, tearing the rules apart

Ooh it's a ooh
(Sveum)
Send 'em in forever
(Sveum)
Only wins can beat the pain
No no no
(Sveum)
Mamma says you ain't got a brain
Mamma just don't understand
(Sveum)
What you do to me is a Sveum!

If Bill Belichick Were the Manager of the Red Sox, Here's What He Would Have Said After Last Night's 8-4 Win Over Toronto:

"I thought this was a game that was kind of sloppy," Belichick said. "We had trouble with a lot of things. We've got a lot of work to do. We struggled in the running game again. We really didn't do a good job defensively with the shortstop [Orlando Cabrera], gave up some easy running yardage, struggled on the ball handling, stuff like that. But we made a few plays, made a few scramble plays with Mientkiewicz in there, got a couple of third down stops finally in that eighth inning with Foulke giving us something meaningful, and we were able to put a few points on the board late. But I think, overall, we've got a long way to go in every phase of the game.

"We've got guys who love to stand at home plate and watch their singles, doubles, and fly outs. We've got guys who don't know to take the extra base, they can't round third properly and they're slow as fog. I've got a third base coach whose judgment is impaired night in, night out. That's costing us runs we can't afford. Maybe we need to actually spend some time on the fundamentals of the game during the season. Shouldn't have to at this level, but you'd never know we worked on this stuff in the spring if you're watching the same games I'm watching..."

Bad News Cabreras Play Without a Care,They Don't Know Where to Run or Throw, but Still Slip Past Toronto 8-4

A High Impact Outing for D-Lowe and Once-a-Week Keith,Millar and Cab Drove in Two Runs Each

Gammons Says Sox Need a Leader

From Monday's chat on ESPN.com:David (Plattsburgh, NY): "How much blame do you place on Terry Francona for the Sox being a .500 team and will he be fired after the season?"

Peter Gammons:"I think Terry has gotten much too much of the blame for the Red Sox problems. They are no where near as good an offensive team as they were last year, essentially, playing without Trot Nixon, who was 5th in the league in OPS last year, and of course, Nomar. Tim Wakefield and Derek Lowe have been inconsistant and the Sox middle relief is below average. The problem with the Red Sox is not as much the manager as it is that they DO NOT have a star player who accepts the accountability for his team's success. They need to either become Jason VAritek's team or go out and spend money to sign a Tejada-type player who can lead them out of their nonchalant style."

"Of course I'm cynical and I've heard all the whispers, but regardless of how Nomar got his body to where it is now, it just isn't a body that makes a very reliable shortstop."

"As he struggled down the stretch in '03 ó while the rest of the team was "cowboying up" ó it was as if the fissures in Nomar's fragile psyche were splitting open for all to see. He would take silent oh-fers where he failed to hit the ball out of the infield. Some in the Boston press pointed out how Nomar always seemed to struggle when his then-fiancee Mia Hamm was in a given road city..."-- Hench bids farewell to NomarMore...

The OC cancels final comeback episode in 9th and with bases loadedArroyo-yo: Sox Fall Behind for Good After New Guys Lead ComebackTeam Can't Overcome Red Shirts (sigh) and White Sox, Lose 5-4 More of the Sveum: Youkilis Hurt in Home Plate Collision (Youk has lower right leg contusion, x-rays negative, day-to-day)Dave Roberts Looks Like Dave Winfield... Striking Out

"I've been fighting myself for a while now. I am human. You can put yourself in a rut sometimes without actually needing to be in one or deserving to be in one, and I have been so inconsistent and frustrated with a lot of different things, and fighting that on a daily basis." -- Never satisfied (good) Curt Schilling

The Kevin Millar Backtrack Backroad Tour on FSN NEST with Greg Dickerson, on NESN post game, and here on WEEI with Dale & Neumy 8.12.04: "The big thing was it wasn't about Francona (his outburst about Francona's lineup), I just basically you know I apologized to him because it shouldn't have got to the media, I got caught with my pants down for a couple of minutes but you know I was frustrated. And sometimes, you know what, it's good for a team, you know I'm not stupid. I wouldn't have gone to the media the way I did but there's also some stuff that we need a little spark and uh you know I mean Francona's been unbelievable and he's our commander and I'd never challenge him and I felt bad for the... it looked as if I was challenging Terry Francona and that wasn't it at all, it was just "hey, let's get something rollin' here, and let's get this team going, and sometimes someone's got to step on a landmine, and that was me...

He's been unbelievable, Terry Francona has like I said earlier in the year, he had more confidence in me than I did. You run through those times. And this guy stood behind me, he's the last guy that I'd ever try to hurt, and that's where I felt terrible the next day, because it came out that way, obviously, then you've got all the opinions on the radio shows and the papers, and the true story was, that wasn't the case. I was just frustrated, I checked the lineup. I expected to play that day because I was told one thing, but hey, that happens. I should have just walked away like I said and went down in the dugout, but you know those things happen, you make a mistake, it came out that way, and obviously Francona and I looked like we were in a little spat, but I came in that next day and apologized, we had a great conversation, and everything was great, we cleared it up, and let's get on a roll now."... on FSN NEST: "I'm gonna pop off (this week), I'll talk to John (Henry), I'll give him a call, we'll have some coffee :-)"

Insert Post-Meeting Backpeddle Here: "I wanted to apologize to Terry. I didn't want this to turn out where he's the bad guy... I'm not challenging Terry Francona as manager... he's always been loyal to me (and then some wouldn't you say?)... but this isn't a situation that's going to last. We turn the page... and we go on. That's basically it." -- Kevin "Don't Come to Fenway No More Then, Media That Don't Pay Me are "Riff-Raff," Now Go Buy Some Ice Cream and Fried Chicken" Millar

Francoma Flips Out and Lays Down the Law with Millar: "I'm not sure the way he handled it is the way I would have wanted him to handle it."

(Yankee fans, front office types, players, and especially Big Stein are simply laughing their asses off at this laughing-stock of a team right now.)

Millar Throws Manager Under a Freight Train: "This isn't me being selfish. It's when my teammates come up to me and go, 'What's going on?' (note: KFK's been in the lineup for two weeks) They want me in the lineup. It's a team, it's a family (says Mr. Name on the Front of the Uniform blah, blah). I'm not going to be lied to. I'm not going to be lack-of-communicated to. I wasn't told I was on the bench. I didn't know that was the situation. I didn't know they traded for [Mientkiewicz] to be the everyday first baseman... No one knows where they're hitting. No one knows where they're playing. No one knows what's going on. That's the whole thing." -- Kevin "Don't Come to Fenway No More Then, Media That Don't Pay Me are "Riff-Raff," Now Go Buy Some Ice Cream and Fried Chicken" Millar

Orlando Cabrera 1-for-his-last-17Wasn't it Great When Ortiz Threw Those Bats?

Hench Mini-rant 8.6.04: "If the Red Sox were a football team we'd be calling them "gutless." They can't stop anyone on third and one, can't win a close game, can't convert 10 hits and three walks in 5+ innings off Maroth into more than three runs. Cabrera should not be hitting third, obviously. He's lost. What was that hit-and-run in the first? Why do we still try it? We must be 1 for 20 on the year."

Francona on the SoSHot Seat 8.7.04: "You generally don't like to see the manager make as many as one idiotic, indefensible lineup decision. But three or four?

1) You just cannot play Bill Mueller at 2B with Derek Lowe on the mound. Period. With Lowe on the mound, the defensive difference has to approach 0.5 runs per game. If you have zero confidence in Ricky Gutierrez, tell the GM that and have him get you somebody who can at least field the position. The offensive edge of Youkilis vs. Gutierrez is dwarfed by the defensive difference at 2B with Lowe pitching." -- Eric Van on Tito, on SoSH

Did You Know? Your Boston Red Sox went 51-30 (.630 winning percentage) on the road in 2002. They talked about being away from the pressure of Fenway then, being able to relax on the road. Can we get that feeling back please?

"To listen to her teammates tell the tale, Hamm even has been acting as a corporate and motivational psychologist for the sensitive Garciaparra, counseling him that the move to Chicago is just part of the business..."

Garcialiar gives up on defending his fraudulent faux pas: "I've heard so much made up about me, I don't even want to comment... I've addressed all those things (yeah right, read his one nervous, stumbling, bumbling 'address' of how he hurt his Achilles with Steve Burton below. Sounds confident. Story makes a lot of sense) ...I'm here now, and that's all I'm focused on." (can't say I blame him since his lies are getting exposed by the hour in Boston)

Late May 2004: CBS4's Steve Burton interviews Nomar Garciaparra and asks how the shortstop got hurt...

Garciaparra: "I didn't even tell my trainers anything, I was like you...(Burton: "You didn't even tell anybody...) not, not, not when it initially happened, not when it first... (SB: But was it a practice ball that hit you?) I just, ahh during BP, you know balls, you know flying around, walking off and I just got hit, I didn't think much of it and I was like alright, bruise, whatever, you know numerous bruises all (laughing) over my body at the time (SB: Put ice on it) yeah exactly and it was, and it was something I was like 'ahh, just go play, just go play,' yeah it's something there, you work through and I went three four days working through it, wasn't getting any better, one thing you know I don't know what's gonna you know how or whatever but I'll definitely be going out to give it 100%, that's for sure."

DAS BOOT: The Net-Net is Nomar Kicked His Team in Teeth AgainIn other news, D-Lowe sees going away party for Garciaparra, starts to imagine his own, decides to stay in Boston telling Boras "just sign the last goddamn offer right now!!"

"Boston Dirt Dogs was very close to the truth on the Garciaparra injury diagnosis, they do such a good job over there."

Gammons on Garciaparra: "I read the transcript of Schilling's interview, where he said 'this is a no-brainer,' and I agree. Curt couched it politically, and was very careful in what he said, but he said 'you want 30 or 40 games from Nomar Garciaparra the rest of the season or do you want 60 games of Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz, and if Schilling said that, and believe me, Schilling voiced what his teammates believe." -- 8.05.04 ESPN's Peter Gammons on WEEI's The Big Show

8.5.04: I had the good fortune today to have a conversation with the director of an Olympic development school educational program. She organizes the athletic and educational programs for several hundred young Americans who compete in gymnastics and figure skating. Some head for Athens and the Olympics. She smiled with pride talking of Olympic champions whose development she had overseen, helping to mold their athletic skill globally with dance, weight, and sport-specific training, and educating them in the three Rís as well as the difficult world of media relations.

We agreed that while you can make an athlete play, you cannot make her care, that is, passion for the game comes from within.

The primary metric of a baseball player, individual achievement, cannot via force of personality create a championship quality team. If it were so, then Carl Yastrzemskiís 1967 Red Sox would have beaten the collectively superior St. Louis Cardinals. Red Sox fans can recite the litany of batting title winners, from Runnels, to Yaz, Lynn, Lansford, Boggs, Garciaparra, Ramirez, and Mueller. Others remind us that 'statistics are for losers.'

For most of his Red Sox tenure, Nomar Garciaparra played as hard as a baseball player can. He will someday likely arrive on the podium in Cooperstown, speaking of the pride and professionalism with which he approached his career. Many great players never win a batting title or win a World Series. No championships graced the Nomar Garciaparra era here, just as none have reappeared in four score and five years.

Still, things changed for the Red Sox shortstop. He missed most of the 2002 season with a serious wrist injury. His overall power, speed, and defense, although superior to the days of the Luis Rivera, Spike Owen, Mike Lansing, and John Valentin, diminished. For reasons unknown, he struggled during the stretch run and playoffs, especially the American League Championship Series in 2003. The first pitch swings, formerly line drives, became popups or just flails.

Call it 'counteroffering' if you want, but Garciaparra rejected the Red Sox monster offer of four years and sixty million dollars. Whether ownership hurt him irreparably with the failed A-Rod trade, or whether he simply tired of being asked to be something he was not (a private man asked to be the public face of the second greatest franchise in baseball) he wanted a change of scenery.

The African proverb says 'it takes a village to raise a child, but a child can destroy the village.' The achievements of the Oakland Athletics of the early 1970s and the 1978 Yankees remind us that a baseball team doesnít have to be Pleasantville to win. However, Dave Cowensí admonition that "nothing great is ever accomplished without enthusiasm" also rings true.

Players and ownership always tell us that "it isnít about the money." Players donít earn fifteen million dollars in Kansas City, Minnesota, or Timbuktu, not because money isnít there. The same passion doesnít exist. Green Bay is the city of millionaires, but not the Baseball Hub. In a country where poverty, homelessness, and medical disenfranchisement still exist, baseball megastars have relatively few locales demanding both excellence and winning, with ownership willing to satisfy their vainglorious quest. From a baseball standpoint, the dollars follow the passion.

Our six-year old nieces and nephews cry after the departure of their idol. Maybe it happens in Minnesota when the Mientkiewiczs, Reardons, and Aguileras move on. Maybe small fry in Dallas mourn the loss of the Siamese basketball twins, Antoine Walker and Tony Delk. I doubt it. Whether Bostonians want to believe it or not, Nomar Garciaparra wanted out of his failed marriage with the Red Sox. We should wish him and his family well. He deserves no less. He too should understand that his candle here had burned down. The Red Sox lost Nomarís desire not to play, but to care. There is no crying in baseball. Good is not enough in Athens or Baseballís Athens.

-- Ron S.

OCD and OBP

Hench's Hardball Redux -- 5.3.03: Does anyone remember the old Nomar?

The bigger the situation, the harder he'd hit the ball. Everything was a rope. Or a bomb. Remember those two playoff series against the Indians? Or the ALCS against the Yankees? In 54 postseason plate appearances he has an impossible 1.399 OPS with a .383 BA, .463 OBP and a .936 slugging percentage. These numbers just don't happen in October.

During his back-to-back batting title seasons of 1999 and 2000 I'm sure Nomar popped weakly to the right side on a pitch out of the strike zone a couple of times. I just can't remember it. Now it seems to happen every time he comes to the plate with a runner in scoring position.

What changed?

Can it all be traced to Sept. 25, 1999 when Baltimore's Al Reyes dotted Nomar on the longitudinal tendon? Nomar played the entire 2000 season with the tendon fraying, hit .372 and, most encouragingly, drew a career high 61 walks. But then the dam burst, the tendon split and all the progress he had made in raising his OBP from .345 his rookie year to .439 in year four was seemingly wiped away. When he came back, he was jumping at the ball, swinging at everything and resolutely refusing to draw a walk as he posted a .352 OBP in 21 games.

But 21 post-surgery games was hardly a fair sample to gauge just how much Nomar had regressed in his hitting approach. So we all waited with bated breath for 2002. He had almost 700 plate appearances last year and walked 41 times, repeating the .352 OBP he had put up in his abbreviated 2001 season. The strength certainly seemed to have returned to his wrist as he piled up 85 extra-base hits, including 24 home runs. But the modicum of patience he was slowly starting to develop over his first four seasons was gone.

Compounding the OBP problem, Nomar was no longer killing first pitches. Why?

"You (Ted Wayman) and I talked about that off the air, I'm not going to report on who he was playing soccer with, because I don't know that. I'm not going to say that." -- Bob Lobel on CBS-4 News/Sports

"At some point, don't be surprised if the Red Sox take legal recourse over this." -- Michael Felger on FSN NE Sports Tonight

Is No more, Nomar, No Mas a Cause for Celebration?

Or is This the True Cause of Nation Frustration?

The Grim Reality: Sox 10-1/2 Games Behind New York Yankees and the AL HR Leader.

The 32% Speaks: We were told he had to go.

8.7.04: "We were told that he no longer cared about the Red Sox, and was polluting the clubhouse. We were told he was going to miss 25-30 games after he expressed his desire to rest a couple times during a six-game turf trip in Minnesota and Tampa Bay.

On Friday night, the Red Sox sent out Orlando Cabrera batting third, and Doug Mientkiewicz batting seventh vs. former 21-game loser Mike Maroth and the Detroit Tigers. Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs sent out Nomar Garciaparra batting second vs. Cy Young favorite Jason Schmidt and the San Francisco Giants.

Cabrera and Mientkiewicz combined to go 0-9 with no walks, the only two members of the Red Sox lineup not to reach base. The Red Sox left 19 men on base en route to a 4-3 loss, and almost half of them -- 9 -- were stranded by Cabrera and Mientkiewicz. Meanwhile, Garciaparra had three hits against Schmidt, including two doubles, and finished 3-4 with a walk. Though the still took their first defeat with Nomar, he showed that it takes special talent to hit special pitching.

For the "No More Nomar" crowd, the rest of this season is a win-win. If Nomar plays poorly in comparison to Cabrera, the trade justifies itself. If, however, Nomar's production continues to dwarf Cabrera's as it has for seven years, the No More Nomars will simply say that Garcialiar would have dogged it for the Sox, had to go, and was only motivated to perform by their trade of him. Sounds like Dan Duquette to me.

The truth is that Nomar Garciaparra loved the fans of Boston a lot more than he loved the management and media, but those two have joined forces to influence the shaken Nation against their former star, who this season was the same lonely soldier he had always been, with less romanticizing and more villifying of his quirky ways.

This weekend in San Francisco, Nomar will take a day off to rest his Achilles. If we're lucky, so will Cabrera."

Sveum old song and dance my friends. Lou PiŮata and Send 'Em in Sveum show us again why you can't get wild about the Sox chances in the post season. Sending Dave Roberts with no outs in the ninth is unforgivable.

Tito amazingly has absolutely no idea whatsoever how to use a pitching staff. It's shocking really as he goes with Arroyo when Bronson was done and the bases jacked in the critical seventh inning while Bronson shakes off Tek and serves up game-winning softball.

Fans are asking about Grady Little. Seriously. That's all you need to know.

"Baldelli hasn't made a whole lot of good throws," said Sveum, who might not have known Baldelli led the league in outfield assists last year (14) and has six this season. "Obviously he pulled one off tonight. They made a great play. To be honest with you, if we did it the same tomorrow night I'd do the same thing. It's obviously a situation where you got that kind of speed on the bases and you got a closer [in the game]."...

..."He made a mistake at a tough time to make a mistake," Francona said. "He pitched so well. Obviously I thought he pitched well for him to be in that situation." -- Heuschkel, Hartford Courant

8.5.04: Hench Mini Rant -- "I don't have the time, will or emotional constitution to write yet another column on the idiot manning the third base coaching box for the Red Sox. I trust that the Big Dog will link you to my last offering on this subject (Sveum Old Song and Dance).

"I truly can't believe that this guy may cost us a playoff spot. Before a team hires a third base coach, do they break down film on him? Does anyone check to see if he understands the fundamentals of the job?

"I have a simple rule: If you're trailing and there is nobody out, that runner has got to be able to score standing up. Now, we all know Dave Roberts was obliterated by 20 feet and that Maurice Green would have been out too, so what gives? There is only one answer: Dale Sveum does not know what he's doing. There is an 80-90 percent chance that you score that runner from third with nobody out and with Baldelli in center there was a considerably higher possibility that Roberts would be thrown out at the plate. Sveum has proven over the course of this season that he is incapable of making this calculation. It also would seem that he does not prepare himself prior to a pitch for the decision that may be suddenly upon him. How many outs? Who's on deck? Which outfielder has the weakest arm? The best? What's the score? It's just unbelievable that on a team whose whole philosophy is built on not making outs on the bases that this incompetent is coaching third."

8.27.02: Hench's Hardball -- "If your projection of the unfolding play indicates that a slide might be necessary, hold the runner at third and hope that one of the next three hitters can drive him in. If you send a runner in the belief that he will score standing up or without even drawing a throw and he is thrown out by 20 feet, then you, sir, are decidedly unqualified to coach third base. At any level."

August 5, 2004: Curt Schilling on 105.7-FM WROR: Loren or Wally (who the hell knows) "In all of this it seems like the fans overwhelmingly are backing the management* on this whole thing here?"

Curt Schilling: "I'm not sure, when it's all said and done, how you can't. I mean when you look at what's happened, what was said, and what was done... he was leaving. He was leaving at the end of the year and I think that people need to really focus on that. He was leaving and I don't know the details. The other thing was it was very evident that he was going to need some time off in the next couple of weeks to be able to play in September. So you had Nomar for 35-40 more games, Pokey Reese or Rickey Gutierrez filling in, and then he was a free agent. Theo was up against the wall and Nomar even stated a couple of different times, I read a response to a couple of questions that people were bringing up to him about coming back late and tanking it and all that other crap that people were trying to accuse him of and he said 'listen, why would I want to sit out and not play when I was going into free agency.' So he's basically saying he was going to be a free agent. So it's very clear and very evident. I'm not shocked people are stunned. I'm not shocked that people are emotional on both sides of the fence because of where we're playing, but if you're rational about this, this guy was going to be a free agent, didn't want to come back, and the team made a move to do the best that they could without letting him walk for nothing."

Sources Tell Boston Globe Nomore Did Not Injure Himself with Batted Ball in March as Was Reported

CBS4's Bob Lobel reported last night today's Boston Globe story by Bob Hohler that Nomar Garciaparra injured his Achilles' heel prior to reporting to spring training for the Boston Red Sox according to sources.

The Red Sox did not make that report public, initially stating on March 6, 2004 that Nomar Garciaparra was "day to day" regarding his return from the Achilles problem the shortstop suffered.

This revelation is not surprising in this space as no one ever confirmed if Garciaparra's heel was injured before, during, or after the Northeastern or Boston College games on Friday, March 5 or before or during batting practice sometime prior to the game against the Yankees in Ft. Myers on Sunday, March 7, a game Garciaparra was forced to sit out due to the injury.

It never made any sense that Garciaparra could have been hit in the back of the foot with a batted ball causing the injury as he would have had to have his back to a batter while standing in the infield during live batting practice, which is obviously forbidden, foolish, and extremely dangerous.

8.5.04: CAPTAIN QUEEG? Gammons jumps in on Nomar Pile on 'EEI revealing that Garciaparra resentment reached new levels when Nomar accused Fenway grounds crew them of leave clumps of dirt and pebbles in the shortstop position area just to cause him to make errors and make him look bad. (Just another day in the life of Pain Man... what time is Judge Wapner on in Chicago Nomie?)

"Henry said he was in accordance with the club's assertion, after Garciaparra met with team trainers and manager Terry Francona last Wednesday in Baltimore, that the shortstop had indicated he could miss a significant amount of playing time this month because of his injury. That left the club little choice, Henry said, but to make a deal for another shortstop.
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"We feel real good about this team. The energy seems to be back in the team. We're happy with the situation we're at right now." -- Johnny Damon

"Defensively, we're better. That's a big thing. That's not a stat. It's hard to quantify what it means in wins and losses. But as a pitcher it's a big difference. I've watched Orlando play for a couple years in the National League and I know Dave too. We're definitely a better defensive club." -- Curt Schilling

"Theo had to decide if 30-40 games of Nomar at SS, with another 20-30 games of Pokey/Ricky at SS was better than 50-60 games of Orlando Cabrera at SS. Look, Orlando Cabrera is not a .250 hitter, he's a legitimate gold glove winner and in my opinion his career numbers are a lot closer to the real player than the numbers he had put up this year."

Boston Dirt
Dogs: Curt, an email came in from
a lifelong Sox fan after yesterday's trade that
started like this:

"I picked up my
daughter at a birthday party yesterday
around 5 pm and told one of the parents
there that Nomar was traded to the Cubs. A
little boy with a Red Sox hat overheard me
and started crying and had to be taken
away..."

What do you say to
all the little Nomah-5 shirt wearing fans out
there, and the people who thought Nomar was the
next Ted Williams, and would spend his entire career
here?

Curt Schilling: You tell
them the truth I think. Listen, no one died
here, I am certain though, being a new guy in
these parts, that some people feel like someone
did actually die. This is a sport, big business,
not life and death. Trades happen, and this one
was obviously larger and had much more impact
given the team and the fans and the player and
all the combined history.

It was no mystery
that Nomar wasn't going to re-sign here, I
continue to be amazed at the amount of dancing
around this actual fact by everyone. Given that
he wasn't going to be coming back, the GM of
this team had a very significant decision to
make on whether 30-40 games with him, and then
the eventual compensation draft choice, were
worth not trading him.

Theo had to decide
if 30-40 games of Nomar at SS, with another
20-30 games of Pokey/Ricky at SS was better than
50-60 games of Orlando Cabrera at SS. Look,
Orlando Cabrera is not a .250 hitter, he's a
legitimate gold glove winner and in my opinion his career
numbers are a lot closer to the real player than
the numbers he had put up this year. From what I
have read, he was also one of the potential
replacements to be pursued this winter when
Nomar left.

Regardless of all
the "he said she said" going back and forth now,
the facts have been pretty plain and very
obvious since I got here. Nomar was not
re-signing here, he was going to be a free agent,
rather than let him walk for the pick our GM
decided to try and improve the one area this
team has a gaping weakness in, and did. As far
as losing his offense I look at it this way. We
spent the first 1/3 of the season without him,
and we played well, we were also missing Trot,
like now, they are both not in our lineup, we
found a way to win then, and we can do so now,
we have to.

Would our offense be
better with BOTH of them in it? Sure would, but
you can't have everything you want, you have to
take what's given to you and make it work, and I
think we will.

So I guess the short
answer is to tell them to appreciate what
they got a chance to see, and remember it. Tell
them that Nomar is a ballplayer, not a fireman
or a police officer or a doctor, those people
are the ones she needs to look up to and
respect, along with her parents. Ballplayers are
there to perform and be cheered, booed and
jeered, to entertain fans with their god given
ability, and to perform at a level no one else
can. Then, at the end of the day, we go home and
do the same things you all do.

Embree Gets Right Against Lefties, Foulke Gets in Game. Laughing Hyenas Pedro and Manny Having a Great Time on the Bench While Teammates are Mad as Hell About Blowing the Division SHOCKER: Lou PiŮata Outmanages Lou Pinella